The Best of CES 2026 finalists are official, showcasing the gadgets that stole the show floor and those products you might actually use in the coming year.
Compiled by veteran editors and analytics experts, the list covers 22 categories with a heavy emphasis on practical applications, innovative design, and significant performance increases. Here’s how to watch the nominees now and how to discover the winners as they’re announced.
How To Watch the Best of CES 2026 Finalists Live
From the show, the quickest route is by way of the official CES app. Search for “Best of CES,” and filter by category to pull in exhibitor booth numbers, demo times, and maps. Most finalists have placards or window clings on display in their booths; staff will help you find timed demos or private briefings.
If you’re at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall usually homes in on TVs, audio, and gaming; West Hall is home to transportation and mobility; Eureka Park at the Venetian Expo is where early-stage startups showcase their first public builds. Routine visits to those zones are the easiest way to snag multiple finalists in a single sweep.
The full slate with product pages, specs, and video clips is also represented on a finalists hub on CES’ digital channels for remote viewers. For most nominees, press kits are listed in their virtual exhibitor profiles, which include datasheets and available times (and/or pricing targets when provided) as well.
How Winners Will Be Notified During CES 2026
Winning companies will be announced live on the CTA Stage in the LVCC Central Hall Grand Lobby and via simultaneous streaming to CES digital platforms. The full list is also typically published minutes after the ceremony on official CES channels and the awards team’s finalists hub. Don’t miss the session: Add it to your app agenda and opt in for push, then tune into CES social feeds for category-by-category callouts and recap threads.
For those of you on the floor, I’d work hard to get there early; seating at big sessions fills up fast. Many exhibitors replay the news on booth screens and change signage for winning products within hours if you want to clock hands-on time post-hype.
What Judges Look For in Best of CES 2026 Selections
Eligibility requirements focus on becoming an official CES exhibitor—and you must demonstrate the authenticity of your innovation: a new product or idea with clear consumer value, or incremental improvements that show material advances. What’s real in the hands carries significant weight; journey maps that detail when products ship are valued far beyond teasers.
Look for a hard sell on on-device AI that protects users’ privacy, broad sustainability metrics (recycled content in products, repairability scores, how little energy they draw), and measurable specs. That’s not the culture we all move in today, right? For example, TV finalists will cite peak brightness in nits and color accuracy; audio gear highlights latency and wireless stability; AI PCs reference TOPS for neural processing; energy tech points to cycle life and safety certifications. Independent validation from organizations like UL, TÜV Rheinland, EPEAT, or ENERGY STAR adds weight to a bid.
Categories and Trends to Monitor at CES 2026
The finalists cross 11 categories: AI and robotics, audio and home theater, gaming, mobile and laptops, kitchen and smart home, wellness and health, sustainability and energy, transportation, outdoor tech.
And the bots are also among the only companies based outside of N.J., having put down roots in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood after participating in a Drexel University startup competition three years ago. It is a cross-section of where consumer dollars and R&D are meeting.
This year’s short list correlates with a few momentum areas: MicroLED and transparent display concepts advancing toward shipping; Wi‑Fi 7 home networking tailored for multi-gig fiber; vehicle-to-home energy systems emerging as consumer-friendly; household robots designed to reliably handle single, repeatable tasks; wearables connecting continual biometrics with clinical-grade algorithms. Analysts have observed that in more recent years, CES has attracted more than 135,000 visitors and over 4,000 exhibitors — and the density of finalists clustered around these areas reflects that size.
If all you have is an hour, go for category hubs: in Central Hall, visit the flagship TV booths and see one “wow” prototype and one that has a realistic price and ship date; in West Hall, look at production-ready driver-assistance suites and bidirectional charging demos; or at Venetian suites, take in audio finalists that can evoke tears with low-latency lossless wireless or room-corrected sound.
Tips For Following Along Remotely During CES 2026
(Be sure to create a watchlist in the CES app, which allows you to favorite finalist exhibitors; the app will push session reminders and booth updates.) As winners are announced, keep the finalists’ hub open — categories there typically fill in with winners as each announcement drops. A few minutes after the ceremony concludes, look for a news conference–chronicling winners recap with product photos and judge notes.
For a bit more depth, cross-reference winners with manufacturer press rooms for firmed-up pricing, regional availability, and software update roadmaps. If you’re comparing competing finalists, inquire about standards support (Matter for smart home, Dolby Vision IQ or HDR10+ for displays, USB4 v2 for peripherals) and how the companies stand on long-term support policies for security and AI features.
If you are in Las Vegas or watching at home, the best strategies are essentially the same: scan through the finalists; watch the live announcement; return to product pages when all is said and done. It’s the only way to tell the difference between headline-grabbing prototypes and the gear you’re actually going to buy this year.
